Double Bass Making an EUB

[rgarcia26]

Guys on looking for a neck and i called the people at "Bob Gollihur store" and they said that I can’t use the standard neck to build a five sting bass!!! no space for the head tuning machines and they said the tension is too much for that neck to hold 5 stings, cheese!!! is very hard to find pieces for a 4 string bass is almost impossible find pieces for 5 and I don't want to pay 500+ for the neck only, any suggestions???

 

[Bob Gollihur]

Guys on looking for a neck and i called the people at "Bob Gollihur store" and they said that I can’t use the standard neck to build a five sting bass!!! no space for the head tuning machines and they said the tension is too much for that neck to hold 5 stings, cheese!!! is very hard to find pieces for a 4 string bass is almost impossible find pieces for 5 and I don't want to pay 500+ for the neck only, any suggestions???

Make one. It's really not brain surgery, especially if you can live without the fancy scroll.

A little over ten years ago I wanted a four string NS Design EUB and couldn't afford to buy one. Off the shelf parts just weren't available, so I spent a lot of time researching, designing, finding woods, building, revising, etc. See my effort at http://www.eclecticbass.com/eurb.html
It was the first and only EUB I've ever built, and other than the used fingerboard I started with, I cut and carved every part using basic tools.

Some folks have used parts we have to build their vision of an EUB, but along with the rarity of five string URBs comes the rarity of raw construction parts.

Buy some good quality woods (or crappy ones to experiment on, first). It's simple-- just cut away everything that doesn't look like a five string bass neck.

 

[rgarcia26]

Make one. It's really not brain surgery, especially if you can live without the fancy scroll.

A little over ten years ago I wanted a four string NS Design EUB and couldn't afford to buy one. Off the shelf parts just weren't available, so I spent a lot of time researching, designing, finding woods, building, revising, etc. See my effort at http://www.eclecticbass.com/eurb.html
It was the first and only EUB I've ever built, and other than the used fingerboard I started with, I cut and carved every part using basic tools.

Some folks have used parts we have to build their vision of an EUB, but along with the rarity of five string URBs comes the rarity of raw construction parts.

Buy some good quality woods (or crappy ones to experiment on, first). It's simple-- just cut away everything that doesn't look like a five string bass neck.

Wow I'm going to look into it!!! A neck looks like an overwhelming task, all those angles, I guess that I’m going to need a good set of plans or a book. It’s either that or build a 4 string one! Do they have a metal bar like the electric bass?.

Ps thank you so much bob I going to need few supplies from your store very soon 

 

[Bob Gollihur]

Wow I'm going to look into it!!! A neck looks like an overwhelming task, all those angles, I guess that I’m going to need a good set of plans or a book. It’s either that or build a 4 string one! Do they have a metal bar like the electric bass?.

Ps thank you so much bob I going to need few supplies from your store very soon 

I'd suggest spending as much time researching and designing as you do building it. I don't know your background as you haven't completed your profile on Talkbass, always a good idea so posters have some perspective.

If you don't already have an URB, get hold of one to take measurements, and to get the feel, and to provide some input as to what you might want to build. You'll find many dozens of different interpretations, EUBs are all over the place, and their designs and resultant functionality/sound differ greatly. See the EUB sections in my Double Bass Links Page at http://www.gollihurmusic.com/links.cfm for inspiration.

Whether you can use a truss rod will depend on the size of the neck and fingerboard, if they are too robust and stiff the metal bar won't move them. I did not use one.

I laid my EUB out on roll paper, full size.

Plans are good, it's better to discover mistakes when an eraser can fix them.

Good luck with your project.

 

[rgarcia26]

Thanks Bob I'm Currently looking at the design I ordered a set Double bass plan and a electric guitar making book, I'm going to start builing the neck it seems to me the hardest piece to make, I dont know if I gonna need a truss rod I think yes? do you know if a normal bass guitar truss rod will work?

 

[Bob Gollihur]

I wouldn't use a truss rod, the massive neck and fingerboard might not be move significantly to make it worthwhile. Relief is carved into fingerboards on URBs.

 

[rgarcia26]

I wouldn't use a truss rod, the massive neck and fingerboard might not be move significantly to make it worthwhile. Relief is carved into fingerboards on URBs.

I can't thank you enough for your help bob, one more thing if I want to make a 5 string EUB a normal 4 string finger board will do the job or I need and custom finger board too?

 

[Bob Gollihur]

Depends on the board. I couldn't recommend the Engelhardt boards we have as the board width (1.5 inches at the nut) is too narrow. However, we and I'm sure others have wider boards (two inches at nut) that should be able to handle the extra string.

 

[ricobasso]

I see this thread has been well and truely hi-jacked!

Ho-hum, let me try and reclaim it. Now that I've been playing my EUB a bit I find that it's a bit unstable on the spike due to lack of width and body bracing. I don't want to put a side arm on it so I'm wondering about replacing the spike with a snare drum stand bottom or similar. Anyone got any experience or thoughts on this?

 

[Bob Gollihur]

I see this thread has been well and truely hi-jacked!

Ho-hum, let me try and reclaim it. Now that I've been playing my EUB a bit I find that it's a bit unstable on the spike due to lack of width and body bracing. I don't want to put a side arm on it so I'm wondering about replacing the spike with a snare drum stand bottom or similar. Anyone got any experience or thoughts on this?

Several years ago I bought a heavy duty cymbal stand at a close-out sale, then went to a percussion-heavy music store and found a tom-tom mount and bass drum mount tom-tom shaft that mated up to the cymbal stand. It works great, see http://www.eclecticbass.com/eurb.html for photo.

 

[ricobasso]

Several years ago I bought a heavy duty cymbal stand at a close-out sale, then went to a percussion-heavy music store and found a tom-tom mount and bass drum mount tom-tom shaft that mated up to the cymbal stand. It works great, see http://www.eclecticbass.com/eurb.html for photo.

I'd already seen that Bob. In fact I started this whole thing by looking at your site and buying the neck and other bits from you. However, my EUB is a box, not a stick, so I want just a small tripod to either connect to or take the place of the spike. That way the EUB will rest on two feet when I tip it back but not move side-to-side. In fact (and I just thought of this) a T bar on the end of the spike would probably do what I want. I'll have to go and try it.